Analyst, Commentator, Charter, Amateur Geographer, Curmudgeon

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This weekend’s massacre in Isla Vista was a misogynistic act of terrorism. Misogynistic acts of terrorism in Nigeria look like the kidnapping of hundreds of girls from a classroom. Misogynistic acts of terrorism in Pakistan look like Malala getting shot on a school bus. It shouldn’t surprise us that a misogynistic act of terrorism in…

Housing costs are out of control in San Francisco. Unless you play for the 49ers or have disrupted something besides study hall, good luck living in a non-hovel. Even Peter Thiel is taking note: Let me give a Silicon Valley—and New York City—focused answer. We have to figure out ways to make housing more affordable…

This space has been quiet in recent weeks due to travel and book stuff, but I’d like to take today to re-post my same-day analysis of the three presidential debates held last year. Usually, presidential debates have as much bearing on the actual election as newspaper endorsements, but with President Obama coming into the first…

Controlling the means of exchange of a good or service the public demands has always been one of the best ways to make money. This is how Jews got rich (and attracted haters) during the Middle Ages and why El Chapo is one of the wealthiest men in Mexico. Kodak once had a dominant market…

The Atlanta Braves announced today that they are leaving their Turner Field digs in downtown Atlanta and moving to a new stadium to be built in suburban Cobb County in time for the 2017 season. This goes against a recent trend in American sports (which itself is part of a larger trend in American demography)…

Derek Thompson of the Atlantic published an article this morning detailing how racially divided American workers are and how this stratification really has not changed in decades, mainly due to differences in social networks and education. He followed that up by taking a look at racial variations in careers and came up with a list…

The 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in the glittering Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar, recently made the news for the fact that thousands of workers will likely die building the new stadia required to put on international soccer’s marquee tournament. Backlash was swift and universal, but there was extra vinegar in the reaction…

It’s not that hard considering security begins inside the terminal. The TSA does a decent job separating passengers from their nail clippers between the ticketing desk and their departure gates, but it obviously can’t prevent someone from bringing a gun into the building when it’s not controlling access to the front door. Once the gun…

Gallup revealed today that only 60 percent of Americans in its most recent survey favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, which is the lowest share in over 40 years. Here’s the evolution of Americans’ attitudes about the death penalty: Support for the death penalty seemed to peak at a time when violent…

As Talking Points Memo reported this afternoon, Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, a conservative Republican who is close to Speaker John Boehner, made some promising news in an interview Bloomberg’s Al Hunt: He expressed openness to revenue-raising tax reforms on repatriation of stranded profits overseas and ratcheting back the carried interest loophole, which allows private equity…